Hey all! So excited to see you here. My name is Sydney and I'm a '24 passionate about energy, education, the environment, and economic policy. I grew up in Southern California, but have also lived abroad in Gibraltar, Spain, and the Philippines. When not blogging or working at McNutt as a Senior Admissions Fellow, you can catch me involved in the Dartmouth Energy Alliance, Energy Justice Clinic, and Greek Life. I hope my blog can give you a window into Dartmouth from a student's perspective.
Academic Program
Majors in Economics and Environmental Studies, Minor in International Studies
Since Dartmouth is on a fast-paced quarter system, students are constantly soaking in new information. Let me take you through a day in my life preparing for my Education 1 and Econ 1 midterms!
8:30 a.m.: Rise and shine! I open my window and am happy to see that it's bright and sunny today. I start getting ready for a productive Week 8 Wednesday.
9:15 a.m.: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I head to FoCo, our main dining hall, for a hearty meal of scrambled eggs, french toast, bacon, orange juice, and a fruit cup.
10:00 a.m.: Back in my dorm room, I pop into my Education 1 professor's Zoom office hours to ask her a question about our midterm on Friday and also interview her briefly for a news article I'm writing about the end of fall term for The Dartmouth, the school's newspaper.
10:30 a.m.: My Econ midterm is tomorrow, so I make reservations in advance to study at Baker-Berry Library (see above photo). I review game theory, marginal rates of substitution, and externalities for a bit, then decide to shift gears into preparing for my Education midterm. I brush up on metacognition, learning styles, cut scores, and more. Productive start to the day!
I use my iPad to pull up my Econ professor's slides while I review my problem sets on my laptop.
1:00 p.m.: I meet up with a friend, then head back to FoCo for buffet-style lunch. I eat some vegetables, chicken stir fry, a slice of Margherita pizza, and a classic chocolate chip cookie.
2:35 p.m.: It is time for my first class of the day – Introduction to International Development! My classmates and I spend this Wednesday afternoon block learning about China's migrant workers. Next class, a guest speaker is coming to speak on Bangladesh's garment industry, specifically on his research with fast fashion and worker's rights.
4:30 p.m.: After sitting down for a while, three friends and I decide to take an afternoon study break in the Zimmerman Fitness Center's weight room. Working out is a great way to relieve stress and stay active!
5:30 p.m.: I grab a smoothie and Collis pasta for dinner to-go and head to an in-person pod meeting for the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact's first-year Foundations program. We play a fun card game called Clowns Applaud Humanity (a PG spinoff of Cards Against Humanity) for socially distanced team bonding.
7:00 p.m.: I work on some more Econ with a study buddy in my dorm. After rewatching some lectures and redoing the problem sets, we're both feeling much more confident than we were earlier in the day!
9:30 p.m.: I walk with my friend to Novack Cafe to use our late-night meal swipes on snacks. Novack gets very social at night, so I talk for a bit with some friends in line and near the tables.
11:30 p.m.: I head back to my dorm and wind down before bed. After an action-packed day, it's time to head to bed and get some rest for tomorrow's exam. Good night!
Every Dartmouth student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Here's my experience navigating the language requirement!
